install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install ucon64

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#ucon64

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/uc/ucon64/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

ROM backup tool and emulator's Swiss Army knife program

Project links

Commands and aliases

ucon64

history

Project history and usage

uCON64 is a long-running command-line utility for video-game ROM backup, inspection, conversion, patching, and related emulator workflows. Its own site calls it a backup tool and emulator's Swiss Army knife.

Project history

The SourceForge project was registered in October 2000, while the developer page credits NoisyB with work from 1999 through 2009 and dbjh with work from 2001 through 2005 and again from 2015 through 2021. The project kept an old-school SourceForge presence, with a public web site, downloads, mailing-list contact, and SVN source access.

The official site frames uCON64 around broad console, handheld, and arcade support, verbose ROM information, backup-unit communication, patch formats such as IPS, APS, BSL, PPF, and Game Genie, zip/gzip handling, and DAT generation for ROM verification.

Adoption history

uCON64's adoption came from the emulator, ROM preservation, and cartridge-backup communities rather than from mainstream developer tooling. Its downloads page documents binaries for Linux, Windows, DOS, Cygwin, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and macOS via pkgsrc, and the input metadata shows Homebrew and Nix packaging.

How it is used

Users run uCON64 to inspect ROM metadata, manipulate ROM or SRAM files, apply or create patches, create DAT files, and interface with many cartridge backup units where supported. Its FAQ documents a per-user configuration file such as .ucon64rc outside DOS, with UCON64_HOME and HOME-style environment variables influencing lookup.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, uCON64 is a preservation-era CLI that keeps specialized hardware and ROM-format knowledge installable through modern package managers. It is not a generic game emulator; it is the kind of small executable that turns a package manager into an archive of console-backup and ROM-maintenance tooling.

Timeline

1999: Developer page credits NoisyB with the start of uCON64 development.
2000: SourceForge project registered.
2001: dbjh begins a long-running maintainer/contributor role.
2019: uCON64 2.2.0 released according to the project news.
2021: uCON64 2.2.2 released according to the project news.

Related projects

The project site lists uCON64dat DAT files and uCON64 frontends as companion downloads.
The developer page credits ideas or code from older tools and communities including original uCON, patchers, backup-unit support code, emulator-related projects, and ROM database work.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:backup

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.ucon64rc

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`ucon64`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version2.2.2

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://ucon64.sourceforge.io/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://ucon64.sourceforge.io/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:ucon64
Version	2.2.2
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ucon64
Homepage	https://ucon64.sourceforge.io/
Repository	https://sourceforge.net/p/ucon64/code/HEAD/tree
Upstream docs	https://ucon64.sourceforge.io/
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/ucon64/ucon64/ucon64-2.2.2/ucon64-2.2.2-src.tar.gz
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared
Caveats	You can copy/move your DAT file collection to $HOME/.ucon64/dat Be sure to check $HOME/.ucon64rc for configuration after running uCON64 for the first time.

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	ucon64
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

ucon64

nix profile install nixpkgs#ucon64

normalized package name match
Matched by: Ucon64

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/uc/ucon64/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/ucon64.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install ucon64 with Homebrew, Nix